Foreigners CAN'T Own and Drive a Car in Japan - Or Can They???
This just in –
YES, you CAN register a car to drive in Japan – even if you are not a resident, and do not have an address certificate (“Jyumihyo” or seal certificate “Inkan Shiome”)!!!
We were recently contracted by a non-resident of Japan, who has purchased a holiday home in Hokkaido, and would like to own and drive a car there whenever he visits the country.
Having been asked this question before on a private capacity, we replied with the usual “No, that’s not possible for non-residents”, which we have heard from friends and acquaintances and read in English articles and online guides many times in the past – fortunately, the client has decided to dig in a bit deeper, and since there did not seem to be any official Japanese sources published online to either confirm or deny this theory – we’ve done what, perhaps, none of the “online authorities” claiming to have investigated the issue have never thought to do – and CALLED the national licensing authority, as well as the local Hokkaido municipality where the client’s holiday home is located.
And the results were very surprising!
Apparently, it IS possible for non-resident individuals to register a car to drive in Japan!
Yes, there’s a huge list of instructions and required documents of course (because Japan), but the bottom line is – authorities will accept an address certificate from your country of residence (witnessed by a notary public or similar authority), in lieu of a Japanese address certificate, which wouldn’t be available to non-residents – and coupled with proof of ownership or rental of a home in Japan, and more importantly, being in possession of a parking space – which is the main concern, since on-street parking is technically illegal in Japan).
This information was not available anywhere online in Japanese, as mentioned – and all English sources seemed to indicate it wouldn’t be possible – so calling and confirming the information was incredibly important – again, we have confirmed this information with both the national licensing authority AND the local municipality branch of the authority as well, just to be on the safe side.
So, the bottom line is – as far as we can tell – it IS definitely possible for non-resident foreigners to own and register a car to drive in Japan – as long as they can prove that they have a place to park it, as well as the documents to confirm their identity and residency overseas.
As for the rest of the procedure, we at Nippon Bridge are more than happy to support you with it of course – but you can get an idea of what’s involved here, using the translator function – https:z//www.mlit.go.jp/jidosha/jidosha_tk6_000021.html.
Note that, if you purchase the car from a dealership/used car lot, they should also be able to handle some of the procedures on your behalf (although it’s doubtful whether they’d know much about the foreign aspect of things).
Also – if you’re looking to purchase a compact car (“Kei car”), which comes with yellow license plates and can offer some tax breaks, there are a few more notarized documents required, but generally speaking, any type of car would be fine, as long as you’re legally allowed to operate it (depending on your drivers’ license stipulation).
Again – we and our client were very pleasantly surprised – we’re not entirely sure how many foreigners are even aware of this option- is it possible that no one has actually bothered to call and check???
Whatever the case may be, we’ve definitely confirmed that it IS in fact an option. You’re welcome 🙂
